Sunday, June 08, 2008

Cream Puffs

There seems to be a craze going on in New York about a bakery called Bread Papa where they serve the best Japanese cream puffs. My friend Tina told me that it’s at the Upper West side of New York and she just can't get enough of it. Diana and I love cream puff too especially when they are crispy on the outside and the cream would burst inside your mouth when you bite into them. They were simply delicious.

I notice that it’s not easy to find cream puffs here but Éclairs seem to be more easily available at the bakeries so if I want to indulge in this delicious treats I have to make it myself. This is one of my favorite recipes which I had in my files for a very long time. They might appear to be challenging to make but they surprisingly easy to prepare. The custard for the filling can be made well in advance and cooled in the fridge.

1) Pre-heat oven toe 400 degree F. Grease a large baking sheet and set aside.2) In a heavy saucepan combine water, butter and salt. Bring it up to a boil. Add in flour all at once and stir vigorously until mixture cook and turn into a ball. Remove and set aside to cool down for 10 minutes.3) Transfer the dough to a mixer and whisk in one egg at a time, mixing it well after each addition.4) Drop about 2 tbsp of dough into the prepared baking sheet and bake for 30-35 minutes or until cream puffs are brown. Transfer puffs to wire rack to cool.

The same dough can be make into ÉclairsIngredients for Pastry Cream1/2 cup of sugar3 tbsp of flour3 tbsp of cornflour2 cups of milk4 egg yolks1 tsp of vanilla

For Garnish (Optional)Some RaspberryMelted Chocolate

1) Mix egg yolks with sugar until combined. Add in both flour and mix well. Add in milk and stir until everything combined.2) Cook and stir over medium heat until thickened and bubbly. Cook for 1 minute more. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla. Transfer mixture to a bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let it chill in the fridge for at least 2 hours before using.3) To assemble cut top off the puffs. Fill it with the pastry cream and garnish it with raspberries. To serve drizzle it with some melted chocolate or simply dust it with some powder sugar.

Diana and Carlos happily indulging themselves into the puffs :) More photos of the Cream Puffs

Gert,your cream puff look soooo delicious rich and good!!! actually your recipe look easy,maybe I will try it out.I never bake cream puff b4.Hope mine will turn out as good as yours..Thanks for sharing:)

I tried the cream pastry few times but it always fail. even i put in the fridge and overnight, the cream pastry doesnt look like cream at all, it was like liquid thingy. Err.. you said let it chill for min 2 hours before using, i would also like to know what is the result you get after you took out from the fridge. thanks

Hi Anon, I don't know what went wrong with the cream you made. I did this recipe many times and it never fail me. Did you cook until the pastry cream boil and blubby? There is no way it will be liquid as the recipe only used 2 cups of milk and used 4 egg yolk, 3 tbsp of flour and 3 tbsp of cornflour and with all this ingredients the cream will set beautifully.

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About Me

I was born and raised in Malaysia and now live in Northern California, USA with my wonderful husband Carlos. I love to bake and cook. It is very relaxing and I find my creativity flowing in the kitchen. I creates this blog to record all my cooking and baking adventures and also share my tested recipes with you.
I don’t consider myself an expert but all the recipes here are tried and tested by me, unless noted otherwise.
If you have any suggestions or comments please feel free to do so, If you’re feeling shy or have a question about a recipe, drop me a line instead. My e.mail address is at my profile.
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